Dennis Levi

Professor (Optometry)

Email: dlevi@spectacle.berkeley.edu

Web site: http://levilab.berkeley.edu/

Research areas: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Research in our lab focuses on how we perceive visual forms and patterns, and how form perception is degrade by abnormal visual experience early in life (amblyopia). Specifically, we use psychophysics, computational modelling and brain imaging (fMRI) to study the neural mechanisms of normal pattern vision in humans, and to learn how they are degraded by abnormal visual experience (amblyopia). While amblyopia is known to influence the properties of neurons in cortical area V1 recent work in our laboratory suggests that amblyopia may also result in damage to higher cortical areas. Our research focuses on the mechanisms of pattern vision, and the influence of abnormal visual development on those mechanisms. Research in our lab focuses on how we perceive visual forms and patterns, and how form perception is degraded by abnormal visual experience early in life (amblyopia). Specifically, we use psychophysics, computational modeling and brain imaging (fMRI) to study the neural mechanisms of normal pattern vision in humans, and to learn how they are degraded by abnormal visual experience (amblyopia). While amblyopia is known to influence the properties of neurons in cortical area V1 recent work in our laboratory suggests that amblyopia may also result in damage to higher cortical areas.

Selected Publications

Li, R.W-H., Levi, D.M. & Klein, S.A. 2004. Perceptual learning improves efficiency by re-tuning the template for position discrimination Nature Neuroscience 7: 178-183.

McKee, S.P., Levi, D.M. & Movshon, J.A. 2003. The pattern of visual deficits in amblyopia Journal of Vision 3: 380-405.

Yu, C. & Levi, D.M. 2000. Surround modulation in human vision unmasked by masking experiments Nature Neuroscience 3: 724-728.

Sharma, V., Levi, D.M. & Klein, S.A. 2000. Under-counting features and missing features: evidence for a high level deficit in strabismic amblyopia Nature Neuroscience 3: 496-501.

Levi, D.M. & Saarinen, J. 2004. Perception of mirror-symmetry in Amblyopic vision Vision Research 44: 2475-2482.

Levi, D.M. & Klein, S.A. 2003. Noise provides some new signals about the spatial vision of amblyopes Journal of Neuroscience 23: 2522-2566.

Levi, D.M., Klein, S.A. & Hariharan, S. 2002. Suppressive and Facilitatory Spatial Interactions in Foveal Vision: Foveal Crowding is simple contrast masking Journal of Vision 2: 140-166.

Levi, D.M. & Klein, S.A. 2002. Classification images for detection and position discrimination in the fovea and parafovea Journal of Vision 2: 46-65.

Popple, A.V. & Levi, D.M. 2000. Amblyopes see true alignment where normal observers see illusory tilt Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97: 11667-11672.